Page 30 - San Marcos, TX Design Manual

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Design Guidelines APPENDIX

Section A.1.4.8 Design Options for a Pedestrian-Friendly
Ground Floor

A. Overview. Building design should incorporate features that help
create a pedestrian-friendly street level by eliminating large
expanses of blank wall area. High-quality ground floor design
considers elements such as height, transparency, entrance
location, canopies and awnings. In mixed-use areas such as
CD-5D, it is especially important to incorporate active features
into the ground floor, such as plazas and storefront windows,
that create an inviting pedestrian experience.

B. Guidelines. The following guidelines should be utilized when
considering options for a pedestrian-friendly ground floor.

1. Design the ground floor to engage the public realm and
promote pedestrian activity.

a. Incorporate recessed entries, courtyards, forecourts
or other setback in the ground floor façade that can
be activated and connected to the public realm.
b. Use design features such as windows, display areas
and awnings to engage the street, provide shade and
add pedestrian interest.

c. Avoid long, blank wall areas that will diminish
pedestrian interest. Instead, add visual interest to the
visual interest to blank walls through at least one of
the techniques shown in Table 1.9.

C. Pedestrian-Friendly Ground Floor Options. The following
Table 1.9 illustrates a variety of ways that interest can be
added to a blank wall or one with little architectural detail.
While a storefront is not appropriate for all building types or
in all areas of downtown, creating an environment that is
enjoyable for pedestrians is essential. This means that the
activation methods below should be applied to the ground floor
of a development. These methods apply when considering
alternative compliance for Section 4.3.5.2, “Transparency” and
Section 4.3.5.3, “Blank Wall Area,” of the Development Code.

San Marcos Design Manual A:31